National competition selects three winners to advance water entrepreneurship

Invisible bubbles to help the oil and gas industry recycle water. Growing a valuable mineral from wastewater to help feed the world. Giving food waste a second life to remove contaminants from water. These were the winning ideas that captured the judges’ attention in the firstever “Pow! emPowering Opportunities in Water” competition.

Veolia, The Water Council and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) today announced three winners that best support the competition’s mission of advancing new ideas and approaches for improving sustainability and resiliency efforts in the water and clean-tech industries. The new program offers a unique opportunity for innovators and social entrepreneurs to fast-track their water-related ideas by connecting them to Veolia and water industry experts and influencers who can directly support their company’s services, products and ideas.

The winning companies are:

 Nano Gas Technologies, Inc., a Deerfield, Ill.-based game-changing water technology company that infuses nanobubbles of oxygen and other gases to support the recovery of oil and gas while recycling water,

 Nutrient Recovery and Upcycling (NRU) LLC, a Madison, Wis.-based resource upcycling and sustainable nutrient management company using a phosphate recovery technology to extract brushite from wastewater, and

 WAVVE Stream Inc., a Houston-based water high-tech startup using an innovative biodegradable gel made from food-grade material to help remove heavy metals and nutrients from water.

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